Category Archives: Success

Its got to be PERFECT ……. a message from Richard Cooper

How do you run your business. Is it PERFECT? Many of us start a business with a vision of giving the customer better service, better value for money and the perfect client experience.

One challenge I have always faced is that no one is quite as passionate about my business and service as I am. I’m not saying that my team aren’t amazing and efficient, but what I mean is that, I am a perfectionist. I want to get it right every time. After all I am the business owner and the buck stops with me. It has to therefore be perfect? Right?

Something I am learning more and more as time goes on is that perfection doesn’t really exist. That may sound a bold statement however, how many of us have actually reached “perfection”? What is perfection? And more importantly how do will instill this into our staff/colleagues and teams? The answer is – “realistically”

SO: Face facts: Your team/staff/clients/suppliers/contractors will NEVER feel as passionate about your business and therefore their levels of service won’t be to the same level as yours. This DOESN’T mean excusing poor performance, attitude or behaviour. Take a look at your clients. Are they happy with the level of service that your team provide overall. Are they treated professionally and are they valued? If the answer is yes then work on developing your team, but not necessarily at trying to make them replicas of you.

Put processes in place: If you couldn’t be in your business for 6 weeks – are there enough processes in place to get by without you in an emergency? If the answer is no, then it’s time to start. You never know what is around the corner. If something meant you couldn’t be there for your clients, will someone else be there? Again it’s not about a replica of YOU, its about meeting and exceeding your clients expectations.

I always felt that if I wasn’t involved in my business then it would crumble without me and all of my clients would leave. I am learning that my clients want me to have a successful business and provide an effective service. Having my skills and expertise at the healm is just an added bonus.

You don’t have to be perfect to win in business, you just have to be professional, consistent and have a great team around you. Listen to your customers, ask them how they see your business. Even if you think something could be ten times better, it may be just “perfect” for them. Spend your time concentrating on being the owner and steering your company forward.

Until next time

Richard Cooper – Virtual Office Visionary

Follow me @holdeverything1

Who you gonna call? A message from Richard Cooper

Monday, 18 February 2013 07:32

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Who you gonna call?

No not Ghostbusters, but seriously, who do you, call when you need support?

In business there is a perception that you need to be tough, and persevere alone in order to be successful. Just reading autobiographies from successful business owners who have made it big, (think Richard Branson, Duncan Bannatyne etc.) there are times when they went out on a limb and took a risk to make it big.

To an extent, owning and operating any business takes risk, determination and many leaps of faith. However you don’t have to do this alone. In the course of my businesses I meet many start-up businesses who believe that if they aren’t alone and “doing it for themselves”, that they won’t be successful.

Over time this belief starts to evolve and some business owners will take on the services of a business coach, or attend networking events, or business “clubs”. Many of my clients have told me very excitedly about what they are doing.

My answer to this question is simple. You know WHAT you are doing, but who are you doing it with? What I mean by this is, that it’s all fine and well to be attending certain events and business activities, but it means nothing if you don’t have quality people around you.

I strongly believe that every business owner should have at least two business mentors. Who do you aspire to be like? Who do you currently go to when you need advice on finance, business dilemmas, people issues and so on?

Put the right people around you. One of my clients has a “life board”. She hasn’t had an official conversation with these people – but has identified seven or eight business people who she knows and trusts. Each person has invaluable support and information that she can draw upon. Whatever the issue, be it people, finance – she goes to the person who she knows has the most experience in this area.

So my question to you this week is, who do you go to when you need advice? Who CAN you go to and how can they help you to accelerate your business growth?

You don’t have to be alone in business and you most certainly don’t have to know it all. You just need the right people around you. Network and build your activity around this goal. And in the words of Will Smith, people can’t expect to be part of your success if they can’t be there during your struggles.

Until next week

Richard Cooper – virtual office visionary

Follow me @holdeverything1

Deal or no deal? A message from Richard Cooper

Thursday, 07 February 2013 18:02

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I don’t often stop to watch TV, but in the background the other evening the TV show “deal or no deal” caught my eye.

For those of you not familiar with the show – a contestant picks a box from random. There are 14 other contestants who have boxes too. One by one the contestant chooses a box to open. They range in value from 1p to £250k – the jackpot.

The aim of the game is to open 3 boxes at a time and eliminate the smaller amounts of money. There is a banker who will make offers along the way to stop the game and at this point the contestant can choose to “Deal or no deal!” The contestant’s box is the last one to be opened. If they have “dealt” with an amount offered by the banker during the show, the ideal result is that the contestant’s box is worth a lot less than they dealt at.

However they can continue all the way through and take their chances that their box has the bigger sum in it. It’s a game of chance.

The contestant this evening was a lady who just wanted a new car. She played the first round. Her offer from the banker was £3000. She declined the offer. The next round went well too, and she had some very high amounts left. She was offered £7500. She carried on and again the next offer was £14000 from the banker. By this time although there were a couple of large cash sums she could win, there were many many smaller amounts of £50, £750 etc.

This lady was on a mission. She was focused, and even the “banker” commented on her calculation. She knew exactly what she was doing. She kept saying, I have a big sum of money in here. She believed it!

She was offered £24000 in the fourth round. She took the deal and then carried on playing to see where the game went. She was left in the final round with £750 and £100k – one of those was in her box.

It was the £100k! She said she had a large sum in her box yet stopped at £24k! Who else would have done this? It’s very easy in hindsight to say that I would have carried on, but when REAL money is on the table, would I have done? REALLY? I really don’t know.

In business however, it’s this that sets aside the successful from those who don’t quite ever make it. They play the game, take the risks, won’t be distracted and go to the very end of a project. Sometimes they win, and sometimes they lose.

How determined are you? If your instincts tell you that something is worth it, no matter how crazy, would you follow them even if a better offer came along? Would you sell out for a £24k job and some short term security or will you stick it out. It’s not for you to answer to me, but ultimately to yourself.